Grade 11 Comprehension JK Rowling

It’s Magic!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix looks set to become the fastest-
selling book in history! The novel, by J K Rowling, sold millions of copies
around the world when it first went on sale on Saturday 21 June.

In the UK, it broke sales records, selling more than 1,777,000 copies on
publication day. In the US, more than 5 million copies were sold. From
Beijing and Tokyo, to Bucharest and Copenhagen, bookshops reported
high sales figures, even though the book is currently only available in
English. In France, it became the first book written in English to top best
seller lists.

J K Rowling’s record-breaking book is the fifth in a series about the

adventures of the young wizard, Harry Potter. The previous four books
have sold almost 200 million copies in 55 languages. Fans have had to
wait 3 years for the new book and there was a great deal of excitement at
launch events. In the UK, many children dressed in Harry Potter-style
clothes, such as pointy hats and black capes, and bookshops recreated
locations from the books, such as platform nine-and-three-quarters at
Kings Cross station in London from which the train to Harry’s wizard
school leaves. In the US, the president of the New York Public Library wore
white gloves to accept a first edition signed by the author.

With 766 pages, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the longest
book in the series, but as many readers finished the book soon after
buying it, it’s clearly a page-turning read. Readers of all ages around the
world seem to agree that the novel lives up to the hype, and that J K
Rowling is a gifted writer of crossover books. For example, in online
reviews, readers from Kenya, Malaysia, Germany and Canada all praise
Potter 5. They say the plot is full of surprises, that it’s great to see the
main character, Harry, growing-up, and that they couldn’t put the book
down until they’d finished reading it.

Task One

Language

Choose the best compound words to fill the gaps in the “Reporter’s
Notebook” below. Type in the right response.

Harry Potter-style

much-guarded

1
one-off

first-day

fastest-selling

brightly-coloured

page-turning

long-awaited

record-breaking

Reporter’s notebook

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix looks set to become the
(1)_________ book in history!

J K Rowling’s (2)_________ book is the fifth in a series about the

adventures of the young wizard, Harry Potter.

It’s been 3 years since the fourth Harry Potter book was published, and
when bookshops opened in the UK at midnight on Friday 20 June, children
queued excitedly to buy the (3)_________ new Potter adventure.

In the UK, many children dressed in (4)_________ clothes, such as pointy

hats and black capes.

In London, thousands of school children went to the Albert Hall to hear J K

Rowling give a (5)_________ reading of her latest book.

The new Harry Potter book reveals which character dies - a (6)_________
secret.

As many readers finished the book soon after buying it, it’s clearly a
(7)_________ read.

In the US, (8)_________ sales of Potter 5 quickly rose above 5 million

copies.

All the Harry Potter books have (9)_________ covers, and there are
different covers for the adult and children’s versions.

Worksheet D

Vocabulary

2
Match the words from the text with their definitions on the right. Use the
text to help you.

1. novel
2. publication day
3. best seller lists
4. launch
5. first edition
6. hype
7. crossover books
8. reviews
9. plot
10. protagonist

a book which is one of the first copies to be printed

most important character

articles in which people give their opinion of something such as a new

book

intensive publicity

a book which tells a long story about people and events that are not real

story

lists showing which books are selling the highest number of copies

books that both adults and children enjoy

the first day a book is released for sale

activities to celebrate a new book